£15,000 Police Operation – Toy Gun is 'safe' FUNNY
Discussion
Think this is an appropriate tale given some of the stories posted lately, anyway…
A while back, we had a vehicle in our garden (belonging to a friend) that had been in an accident, completely harmless and unroadworthy, it was after a while listed on eBay for someone to fix up . . . problem was, in the photo (and unrelated in anyway to the sale of the vehicle) was . . . A BROKEN CHILD’S TOY GUN!!!
Now, being that broken child’s toy guns (suitable for children over 36 months) are not especially harmful (certainly not as much as a non broken one), or illegal (any child can legally buy one) it was somewhat ignored, the vehicle was photographed, and the vehicle listed on eBay – and that was it . . . Until . . . the Police were tipped off!
Now, what would the expected response be? A phone call to the person listing it? Yes, that’s what the police did. Next step, ask for the address where the vehicle is? No, rather than tip off the seller that they were on to something other than buying a busted vehicle, they used their psychological skills to learn that the vehicle was actually somewhere in the M25 area, and they then did what any normal thinking person wouldn’t – and sent up a Police helicopter scouring the area looking for it, in what was probably hundreds of square miles (no idea how long it took them to find it, but as they knew the vehicle was out in the open from the picture on eBay, they new that eventually, no matter how long they stayed airbourne, they would find it. And amazingly they did!
Now, obviously I’m asleep and unaware of all this going on, until early one morning the Police arrive in force with a warrant to search the vehicle and I get a ring on the door, at which point (knowing what they will find), subdue a smile, and leave them to it to go back to breakfast. Eventually I wander down with a cup of coffee to find out how they are progressing, and of course they have had a ‘result’, and found a ‘potential’ firearm or two (aka a Lorcin BB Gun, R.R.P. £2.99 from many high street toy stores, but also a broken air rifle).
Of course, the first few police weren’t qualified to make any determination to say whether the gun in question was a all-metal 9mm firearm, or a broken child’s toy, or that an air rifle was in fact an air rifle (I’d think putting pellets in them and firing them would have proven the case, but no) – so it was obviously time to call in the armed response unit (more cars and police) to make sure the guns were safe (which they did, and ‘siezed’ said guns and took it away in a plastic bag.
Didn’t here anything much after that, other than they discovered that the gun was indeed not a firearm, and that what looked like a cheap £20 Chinese made air rifle was in fact a cheap £20 Chinese made air rifle. Guess they got some of their specialists to test them out in a shooting range under controlled conditions.
Now, the easier way to save around £15,000 on a police operation would logically been to phone the seller, and ‘ask’ to see the vehicle while posing as a potential buyer!
But of course, the police know best…
Never thought to complain to anyone, mainly ‘cos I found the whole thing so damn funny.
A while back, we had a vehicle in our garden (belonging to a friend) that had been in an accident, completely harmless and unroadworthy, it was after a while listed on eBay for someone to fix up . . . problem was, in the photo (and unrelated in anyway to the sale of the vehicle) was . . . A BROKEN CHILD’S TOY GUN!!!
Now, being that broken child’s toy guns (suitable for children over 36 months) are not especially harmful (certainly not as much as a non broken one), or illegal (any child can legally buy one) it was somewhat ignored, the vehicle was photographed, and the vehicle listed on eBay – and that was it . . . Until . . . the Police were tipped off!
Now, what would the expected response be? A phone call to the person listing it? Yes, that’s what the police did. Next step, ask for the address where the vehicle is? No, rather than tip off the seller that they were on to something other than buying a busted vehicle, they used their psychological skills to learn that the vehicle was actually somewhere in the M25 area, and they then did what any normal thinking person wouldn’t – and sent up a Police helicopter scouring the area looking for it, in what was probably hundreds of square miles (no idea how long it took them to find it, but as they knew the vehicle was out in the open from the picture on eBay, they new that eventually, no matter how long they stayed airbourne, they would find it. And amazingly they did!
Now, obviously I’m asleep and unaware of all this going on, until early one morning the Police arrive in force with a warrant to search the vehicle and I get a ring on the door, at which point (knowing what they will find), subdue a smile, and leave them to it to go back to breakfast. Eventually I wander down with a cup of coffee to find out how they are progressing, and of course they have had a ‘result’, and found a ‘potential’ firearm or two (aka a Lorcin BB Gun, R.R.P. £2.99 from many high street toy stores, but also a broken air rifle).
Of course, the first few police weren’t qualified to make any determination to say whether the gun in question was a all-metal 9mm firearm, or a broken child’s toy, or that an air rifle was in fact an air rifle (I’d think putting pellets in them and firing them would have proven the case, but no) – so it was obviously time to call in the armed response unit (more cars and police) to make sure the guns were safe (which they did, and ‘siezed’ said guns and took it away in a plastic bag.
Didn’t here anything much after that, other than they discovered that the gun was indeed not a firearm, and that what looked like a cheap £20 Chinese made air rifle was in fact a cheap £20 Chinese made air rifle. Guess they got some of their specialists to test them out in a shooting range under controlled conditions.
Now, the easier way to save around £15,000 on a police operation would logically been to phone the seller, and ‘ask’ to see the vehicle while posing as a potential buyer!
But of course, the police know best…
Never thought to complain to anyone, mainly ‘cos I found the whole thing so damn funny.
autismuk said:
Count yourself lucky. Some poor sod got six months for "threatening" some yobbos with a toy gun (a real toy), who were terrified.
The yobbos, who were threatening him, got, guess what .... nothing.
Im waiting for the armed response unit to turn up at my house beacuase I told my hideous neighbors to f
k off for once again shouting and swearing in the back garden at 1am.... plus I did 78MPH on the motorway this morning for a brief stretch.
Not a lot by what you have just posted. gh0st said:
Count yourself lucky. Some poor sod got six months for "threatening" some yobbos with a toy gun (a real toy), who were terrified.
The yobbos, who were threatening him, got, guess what .... nothing.
Im waiting for the armed response unit to turn up at my house beacuase I told my hideous neighbors to f
I'm afraid it's straight to the gallows for you mate. No judge or jury.
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